- Bournemouth beat Arsenal in April after goals from Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott condemned Mikel Arteta’s side despite Viktor Gyokeres penalty
- Manchester City’s 3-0 over Chelsea allowed Pep Guardiola’s side to pull within six points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League
- City will face Bournemouth in penultimate league game of the 2025-26 season on May 19 at the Vitality Stadium
Bournemouth striker Rayan received appreciative messages from Manchester City supporters following his side’s Premier League win over leaders Arsenal in April.
Mikel Arteta’s side missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table to 12 points before the Pep Guardiola’s side beat Chelsea 3-0 the same weekend at Stamford Bridge.
Junior Kroupi, the Bournemouth wonderkid whom City have shown interest in ahead of the summer transfer window, opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium before Viktor Gyokeres equalised from 12 yards.
We owe to ourselves and the Manchester City fans to fight Arsenal till the end, says Jeremy Doku
But after 74 minutes, Alex Scott struck to provide the Cherries with three valuable points to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games and ultimately help City keep up the chase in the title race.
There were some messages from Man City fans: Rayan
Rayan, who was replaced by David Brooks in the 70th minute and recently scored against Crystal Palace, said he received congratulatory messages as a thanks for the efforts which could eventually prove to be highly-influential in the outcome of this campaign.
“Yes, there were indeed some messages on Instagram from the City fans, thanking us for the victory especially on the next day when they won against Chelsea 3-0,” the Brazilian told ESPN.
“I think that each victory we get is very important but we knew the difficulty that the game against Arsenal would have; they are first in the Premier League.”
Although the teams unintentionally joined forces last month, the story will be quite the opposite on May 19 when they take on one another at the Vitality Stadium, with the game being a crucial one for both.
How Bournemouth can determine title race verdict
Bournemouth are in the UEFA Europa League places on 52 points and are looking to certify their prospects in their remaining three Premier League games, having never played in a major European competition.
“The best team in the Premier League” – David Moyes lauds Manchester City after hard-fought Everton draw
Manchester City hit their classic end-of-season form in April and look hungrier by the game in the hunt for a withering Arsenal side, who have lost out in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in recent weeks.
However, the Blues suffered a monumental blow to their title hopes on Monday night by dropped two points away at Everton in a 3-3 draw, now sitting five points behind Arsenal with a game in hand over the Gunners – ahead of this weekend’s visit from Brentford to the Etihad Stadium.
City also have the FA Cup final against Chelsea to worry about before Bournemouth in the Premier League and a final day home fixture against Aston Villa on May 24, a point in time where the title may or may not have already been decided.
